The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, has guest rooms shaped like concrete tipis.
Holbrook’s Wigwam Motel is part of the Wigwam Motels chain, whose signature rooms imitate Native American tipis. The Holbrook property is commonly identified as Wigwam Village No. 6 and became a celebrated Route 66 landmark because its architecture is instantly recognizable from the road.
The motel opened in 1950, during the period when roadside businesses increasingly used dramatic designs to attract motorists. Each room combines the appearance of a tipi with modern motel accommodations, creating a distinctive form of roadside architecture.
The Holbrook location is sometimes confused with Wigwam Village No. 7 in San Bernardino, California, another surviving Route 66 property in the chain. The two motels share the same basic concept but are separate sites in different states. The structures are concrete, not traditional fabric tipis.